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Acceptance of Interracial Marriage at Record High

by Jack Ludwig, Senior Staff Writer

Fifty years after the landmark school desegregation case of
Brown v. Board of Education, survey evidence suggests some
relatively recent shifts in American opinions about race. In order
to assess change since the civil rights movement began a
half-century ago, a recent Gallup Poll conducted for the American
Association of Retired Persons (AARP)* included questions on a
variety of racial integration and tolerance issues.

For the first time since Gallup began asking Americans this
question in 1998, a majority of Americans view the current state of
race relations in the country as either "somewhat" or "very" good.
In addition to this general sentiment, another interesting
barometer of race relations has continued to rise: approval of
interracial marriage. According to the results of the latest poll,
more Americans than ever approve of marriage between blacks and
whites, and a firm majority say they would approve of a marriage
between their child or grandchild and a person of another race.

The actual prevalence of interracial marriage is low --
according to Census Bureau estimates, less than 1% of U.S.
marriages include both a white spouse and a black spouse -- but has
approximately doubled since the early 1980s. While Gallup did not
ask Americans about the racial makeup of their own marriages,
results show that Americans are significantly more accepting of
these unions today than they were in the early 1980s. In 1968, only
20% of Americans approved of marriage between "whites and
nonwhites." By 1983, 43% said they approved of marriage between
blacks and whites, and in the most recent survey conducted for
AARP, 73% of Americans expressed approval toward black-white
marriages. This percentage is up significantly since Gallup last
asked the question in June 2002.

While a majority of black adults have consistently approved of
marriage between whites and nonwhites since Gallup began asking
this question of blacks in 1968, only 17% of whites approved in
1968. It wasn't until 1997 that a majority of whites expressed
approval toward black-white marriages. According to the latest
survey, 70% of whites and 80% of blacks approve of marriage between
whites and blacks.

Younger Americans are more likely than older Americans to
approve of marriage between blacks and whites (approval ranges from
85% among the 18- to 29-year-olds to just 47% among those 65 and
older).

The level of approval among whites is also clearly related to
education: 62% of whites with a high school education or less
approve, compared with 83% of white college graduates. Urban
dwellers and those living in the East also express higher levels of
approval toward black-white marriage.

Approval of Cross-Race Marriages "Closer to
Home"

While 7 in 10 Americans would approve of their own child or
grandchild marrying someone across what used to be called "the
color line," clear differences emerge by race. Majorities of both
whites and blacks would approve of their child or grandchild
marrying outside their race, but blacks are substantially more
likely to approve than whites (86% vs. 66%). Age is also related to
opinion on this topic, with older Americans expressing less
accepting opinions than younger Americans (45% approval among
Americans 65 and older, compared with 83% among those under
30).

Whites who have graduated from college express more acceptance
(80%) than those who have a high school education or less (55%),
although this pattern does not hold true for blacks.

Bottom Line

While expressions of acceptance toward racial equality have
increased markedly over past decades, it is a principle that is not
categorically embraced by American adults. More than a quarter of
whites disapprove of marriages between blacks and whites, and 30%
of whites say they would disapprove if their child or grandchild
wanted to marry someone who was black.

And while some of the trends are moving in a more accepting
direction, Americans are not optimistic about the future of race
relations. The survey finds that more than 7 in 10 blacks and 6 in
10 whites feel that relations between whites and blacks will always
be a problem in the United States, and 37% of blacks currently
characterize the state of race relations in the United States as
"somewhat" or "very" bad. While changes in racial attitudes have
occurred -- some of them relatively recently -- Americans are still
treading the path that civil rights pioneers set them upon a
half-century ago, and a substantial part of the journey still lies
ahead.

*The AARP/Gallup poll results are based on telephone
interviews with 2002 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted between
Nov. 11 -- Dec. 14, 2003. For results based on the total
sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling
error is ±5 percentage points.

For results based on the 446 national adults who identify as
African American/black -- but not Hispanic, the maximum
margin of sampling error is ±8.5 percentage points.

For results based on the 915 national adults who identify as
white -- but not Hispanic, the maximum margin of sampling error is
±6.7 percentage points.

For results based on the 551 national adults who identify as
Hispanic -- including those who identify as white or black or
other, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±6.2
percentage points.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and
practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or
bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Slightly more Americans agree (52%) than disagree (45%) that the federal government is responsible for making sure all Americans have healthcare coverage. This balance of views is similar to last year.

Americans' daily self-reports of spending averaged $98 in November, up from $93 in October. The latest figure is the highest average recorded for the month of November since Gallup began tracking consumer spending in 2008.

Americans are now almost evenly split on whether to amend the U.S. Constitution to replace the Electoral College with a popular vote system for electing presidents. In the past, Americans preferred the popular vote.